Tobacco-sizing machine.



B. 0.` DAHL..v

TOBACCO SIZING MACHINE. APPLICATION mib MAR. 14. 1911.

Patented May 7,1918. 2 SHEETS-CHEET l.

vwwtoz l I l Stratum,

B. O. DAHL.

ToBAcco s|z|NG MACHINE.

Patented May 7 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

APPLICAUON FILED MAR. I4. ISH.

' currar srafras PATENT orrror,A

BERENr-o. BAH-L, or vIRoQUA, WISCONSIN.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, BERENT O. DAHL, a citizeny of the United States,residing at Viroqua, inthe county'of Vernon and State of Wisconsin, haveinventedV` a new andi useful provision' of novel arrangement of thellea-fv` conveying belts`,'whereby aJ larger assortment ofy the 'leavesis possible.

Another objectV of the invention isthe provision of the conveyer beltsand their'rolle'rs so v arranged,as to grip the leaves for moving them`with' the belts, without danger` of tearing or otherwise inj uring. theleaves.

A further object of the invention is the provision of means forl movingand' directing ther leaves away fromthe.- si'zinz belts, into thereceptacles ory binsso that the butt ends of the leaves areeven. t

It is'` also theobject of the invention to provide a machine of thenature indicated improved generally in its construction and details, toenhance the utility and efficiency thereof. i

' With the foregoing and other objectsin view which will appear as thedescriptionv proceeds, the invention resides` in the combi'- nation andarrangement of parts and in the detailsof construction hereinafterdescribed andl claimed, it being understood that changes inthe preciseembodiment of the invention herein disclosed, can be made within the'scope of what is'claimed, without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

The invention is illustratedy in the accom'- panying drawings, wherein:V

Figure l is a plan view of the machine, portions being shown in dottedklinesinstead of full lines, toy illustrate the parts underneath. fp, t

Fig. 2 is a side elevationof the machine.

Fig. 3 isra sectional detaily illustrating the mounting ofA oneV ofthelower rollers;

The'maclrirfe embodies a suitable, frame-1 constructed of wood or othersuitable material, and a-pair' oftransverse rollers 2-f3is carried bytheY frame. at the receiving or".

Speciation of Letters Patent. Patented. May '7., Application filed Maren1.4, 1917. Serial No. 154,758i y feeding end thereof, and a relativelywide inletfeeding apron 4:' `is trained around said rollersadjacent tolthe forward endsthereof'. `Alongitudinal1series oftransversev thereof,forwardly projectingI` spindlesf are' carried by4 thev rear portion ofthe frame 1, and said rollers are mounted upon the? spinff dles 6,preferably by meanslof-anti-frictional or roller bearings?. Therollers-'5 aref held upon the spindles 6l by means of collars orothersuitable retaining elements 8 engagedto the forward free ends of saidspindles.`

A set oflongitudinal transversely spaced; belts 9 is trained around therollers 5 and1 the lroller 2, and said endless conveyer belts increasein length from the forward to the rear belt'. Thebelts 9 are all trainedaround the roller 2 at the receiving end of the mar chine, andtheopposite end of shorter forof the frame 10 which is nearestthefrecei'ving end of the machine. A set of transverseV longitudinallyspaced rollers 12 is mountedYV withinth'e framelO, and saidV rollersdecrease in length from the roller 11'- to the smaller. end of the framev10, substantially thesame as the rollers-5, the forward 'ends of therollers 12 being on anf'oblique liney or inl stepped arrangement.y Theshafts or axles' 13 of the rollers 12 are journaled iny bearings 14'Vcarried by the 'frame 10.' -Thev the belts 9 are of less width!L thanthe width frame l is carried for vertical adjustment by the main frame1, and for this purpose,- the frame is provided with depending barsoverlapping the main frame and provided with vertical slots 16 receivingbolts or clamping elements 17 carried by the main frame. `When thesebolts are loosened, the secondary frame can be adjusted vertically. Thisframe 10 is inclined the same as the lower set of rollers, whereby theupper set of rollers is also inclined. A plurality of longitudinaltransversely spaced conveyer belts 18 are trained around the roller 11and rollers 12, said endless` belts 18 increasing in length from theforward to the rear one, thesanie as the belts 9, and the belts 18 arein stepped arrangement the same as the forward ends of the rollers 12.The rollers of the upper set are disposed in staggered arrangementrelative to the rollers of the lower set, whereby when the frame 10 islowered, the rollers of thetwo setswill press the belts of the oppositesets between the rollers thereof, as seen in Fig. 2, in order that thebelts will be held taut, and this will hold the adjacent runs of thebelts together, in order to grip the tobacco leaves and convey themalong the belts without the danger of the leaves being torn or otherwisemutilated.

Importance is also attached to the fact that the belts of the upper andlower sets are in staggered relation, it being noted that each belt ofeach set has its edges overlapping the edges of two belts of the otherset. This increases the sizing capacity of the machine as willhereinafter more fully appear.

A feeding table 19 overhangs the roller 2 for feeding the tobacco leavesonto the lower apron 4 and belts 9. This table 19 is provided with agage and stop 19 at its for ward edge, against which the butt ends ofthe leaves are brought as they are moved from the table onto the apron4. The tips of the leaves of different lengths are therefore broughtonto the respective belts 9, according to the lengths of theleaves, asdisclosed in said patent.

A means is provided for conveying the leaves to one side as they arereleased from the belts 9 and 18. Thus, an oblique roller 20 is disposedsubstantially underneath the forward ends of the rollers, and a roller21 is disposed in front of and parallel with the roller 20, and isslightly higher up than the roller 20, as seen in Fig. 2, whereby theendless apron 24 which is trained about the rollers is inclined slightlyfrom the roller 20 to the roller 21. The apron 24 is comparatively wideso as to extend across the ends of the rollers 5 and 12. The rollers 20and 21 are substantially horizontal. The rollersy 20 and 21 are carriedby the respective shafts 22 and 23 journaled in the main frame 1, and apulley 25 is secured to that end of the shaft 22 remote from the feedingend of the machine, whereby power can be applied to the shaft 22 foractuating the apron 24 and the other working parts.

kThe opposite end of the shaft 22 is connected by bevel gears 26 with atransverse counter shaft 27 journaled in the frame near the receivingend thereof, and the shaft 27 has a spur gear 28 thereon meshing with aspur gear 29 secured upon the rearend of the shaft 30 of the roller 2,whereby to actuate the apron 4 and belts 9. The counter shaft 27 is alsoconnected byl a sprocket chain 3l with the shaft 32 of the roller 11 toactuate the belts 18 which are all'trained below the forward ends of therollers 5 and 12, and a longitudinal series of receptacles or bins 33 islocated adjacent to the discharge end of the apron 24, said receptaclesbeing separated by partitions 34. The receptacles 33 are `arrangedaccording to the rollers 5 and 12, there being one of said receptaclesfor each of said rollers, or for each of the belts 9 and 18 of the twosets. There are therefore twice the number of receptacles in the presentconstruction as that shown in the patented one, but practically the'same number of conveyer belts are used. Upwardly projecting doors 35are provided for the forward open ends of the receptacles 33 and havetheir lower ends hinged, as at 36. Springs 37 are used for swinging thedoors 35 upwardly to closed position, and said doors have suitable knobsor handles 38, whereby the doors can be swung forwardly and downwardlyfor conveniently removing the assorted leaves from the receptacles.

An inclined chute 39 of triangular form is disposed underneath theforward ends of the rollers 5 and 12 and extends to the rear portion ofthe belt 24 and the rear roller 20.

Ak table 40, shown in dotted lines only, can be disposed above thereceptacles 33 and belt 24 for handling the bunches of leaves as theyare lwithdrawn fromthe receptacles 33, thus providing for economy inspace, since the table 40 can be provided above the machine withoutusing separate space therefor, and theleaves can be readily placed onthe table 40 after they are removed from the receptacles.

In operation, the tobacco leaves are placed upon the feed table 19 withtheir butt ends against the gage or stop 19 and are moved from saidtable onto the feed apron 4, and

the leaves are conveyed by the apron 4 and belt 9 underneath thereceiving portions of` the belts 18 where the tips of the leaves aregripped between the upper and lower belts and conveyed rearwardlytherewith. The shortest leaves are dropped from the apron 4 to, passinto theiirst receptacle 33, and thek neXt size of leaves whose tipsterminate between the irst or front ybelts 93 and 18 are released 4atthe deliveryI portion of the rst belt 18, so as to pass into the secondreceptacle 313i The next size of' leaves which have their tips ofrippedbetween the `first belt 9 and seconda belt 18 are released at the,`delivery portion of the said first belt 9. Thus, thev leaves arereleased at the various longitudinal points in proportion to theirlengths, the shorter'leaves being released first and the longer leavesbeing carried rearwardly` the machine. Thus, the graduated sizes areyalternately released from the upper and 'lower belts, instead of fromthe pairs of upper and lower belts as in said patent, a receptacle 33being provided for each of the belts 9 and 18 instead of one receptaclefor yeach upper and lower pair, thus doubling the sizing capacity. `Thedelivery portions .of the upper and lower belts are 1n Asteppedarrangement, as seen Vin Fig. 1, kwhich ink connection with thetransverse staggered arrangement of the upper and lower belts, providesfor the increased efficiency of the apparatus. The chute 39 increases inheight Jfrom the receiving to the delivery end of the machine, `wherebythe leaves in hinging farther down from the belts toward theV dey liveryend of the machine, rest against the chute 39. Said chute is increasedin height toward the delivery end of the machine in proportion to theincreased lengths of the leaves hanging from and released from thebelts..V The leaves from the smaller to the larger sizes are released atpredetermined points of the chute 39, and in hanging downwardly againstsaid chute with their buttv ends lowermost, will, when released, slideonto the receiving portion of the apron 24. The adjacent runsof thebelts 9 and 18 move away from the receiving end of the machine, whilethe upper run of the apron 24 moves away from the belts to carry'theleaves towardy the respective receptacles 33. The leaves are movedsuiiiciently fast by the apron` 24, in order that the momentum of theleaves will carry them across the mouths of the receptacles 33 againstthe doors 35, the butt ends of the leaves abutting against said doors tobring them even. The leaves after striking the doors 35 drop downwardlywithin the receptacles or pockets, thus piling the leaves within thereceptacles with their butt ends even. The apron 24 thus serves to.place vthe leaves properly in their receptacles or pockets, and byswinging the doors 35 of the n proper receptacles.

-by only the end portions of the leaves can receptacles forwardly rlanddownwardly, the

leaves can be readily removed therefrom in bunches. l 's y l y Itis tobe noted the 'leaves in being placed onI the belt4 with their butt endsat thaty edgeof 'said belt nearest the observer, (rel ferring toFig. l),the butt ends of the leaves will project from the conveyer belts `inddrop onto the apron 24, which tends to move the leaves from between theyconveyer belts as saidbelts move the leaves therewith. Thisfcr'eates 4alighttension on the leaves, dueto their frictional'engagement with theapron, and as ysoon as the leaves are released, they will be moved bythe apron into the The delivery portionsy of the belts andl apronl 24are spaced apart an increasing `distance from the receiving to thedelivery portions of said belts, whererest on the apron 24. Thisprevents the longer leaves from having too great a bearing on the apron,which might prove in-` jurious, either ytearing the leaves or pullingthem from the belts prematurely.

Having thus described' the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. Asizing machine` embodying two sets of belts `for conveyingarticlestherebetween, the delivery portions of the` belts of each setbein'ginstepped arrangement, the belts of the two setsbeing in staggeredarrangement transversely thereof, and the delivery portionsjof the beltsof one set terminating between the delivery portions of the belts of theother set, so as to release the articles alternately from the belts ofthe two sets.

2. A sizing machine embodying twosets of conveying belts having theirdelivery portions in stepped arrangement, and each belt having itsjedgesoverlapping lthe edges of two belts of the Yother set to release thearticles alternately from the belts of the two sets.

3. A sizing machine embodying a main frame, a series of rollers carriedthereby, endless conveyer belts trained around said rollers, a secondaryframe carried adjustably by the main frame, a series of rollers carriedby the secondary frame, endless con- 1 15 veyer belts trained around.the second mentioned set of rollers, the belts of the two sets havingtheir delivery portions in stepped ar-` rangement, and the rollers ofthe two series being in staggered arrangement to press the oppositebelts between their rollers.

4. A sizing machine' embodying a frame, forwardly projecting spindlescarried thereby, rollers rotatable upon said spindles with their forwardends unencumbered, conveyer belts trained around said rollers, otherrolling in stepped arrangement, and means for receiving articles fromthe delivery portions of said belts below the forward ends-of the firstmentioned rollers. f

. 5. A sizing machine embodying conveyer belts having their deliveryportions in stepped arrangement, an endless apron having its receivingportion below said delivery portions of the belts for the engagement ofthe projecting ends of the articles held between said belts, said apron`being movable away from said delivery portions and tending to withdrawthe articles from said belts,

and receptacles adjacent to the delivery portion. of saidapron forreceiving the. articles therefrom and `provided opposite to `said apronwith doors to open `away from said apron and against which the articlesare moved into the receptacles from said apron. f In testimony that Iclaim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto ailixed my signature in thepresence of two witnesses., v y

v BERENT O. DAHL. Witnesses:

A. HEINZ, F. H. GRAVES.

Ccpes of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

